Christmas in Sidcup is a lovely time of year, particularly of you’ve got guests at home to enjoy it with. But all that extra cooking, washing up, showers and toilet flushes can take a toll on your home’s plumbing and heating systems.

Don’t worry though – let our simple tips help you avoid plumbing problems, heating headaches, and drainage disasters over the festive period this year.

One really simple but too often overlooked way to take the pressure off your drains and drainage is to fit strainers to all your sink and shower plugholes.

They’ll help catch a lot of the soap, hair, food debris and other gunk that would otherwise go into your drains and potentially cause build-ups and blockages.

With drains, prevention is always the best medicine - and at the cost of only a few pounds, they’re a great investment in keeping your drains healthy and happy during Christmas and beyond.

And staying on the subject of drains and drainage, it’s really important to avoid pouring cooking oil, fat, and other food grease down your kitchen sink.

(We know it’s a tempting shortcut - especially at Christmas, when you want to spend as little time as possible clearing up in the kitchen).

Oils, fat and grease, although liquid while hot, cool and congeal quickly, and can clog your drains and slow the rate of drainage significantly.

Instead, make sure there are plenty of paper towels around to help mop up the worst of the waste and put it where it belongs – in the bin or your food waste recycling container.

Got family or friends staying overnight, and a corresponding queue for the morning washing facilities? Encourage your guests to wait ten to fifteen minutes between showers.

That’ll do two things: firstly, it’ll give your drains a bit of breathing space to clear properly, and help avoid any cumulative backing up.

Secondly, it’ll help your boiler maintain water temperature, reducing the possibility of a nasty surprise in the form of a cold shower for any of your guests. (Unless Christmas with the in-laws has left you feeling like one or two of them deserve it…!)

Another key issue in the bathroom: make sure your guests don’t dispose of things like disposable wipes, sanitary products, cotton buds or dental floss down the loo.

These kinds of objects don’t disintegrate or dissolve like loo paper, and are a major cause of blocked and clogged drains, both at home and in the wider sewerage network. And that includes the many wet-wipe brands that claim to be ‘flushable’.

To help your guests make the right choice for your drains, provide a bin in your bathroom in an obvious position.

We hope you won’t need the services of an emergency plumber or heating engineer over the Christmas period - but if the worst does happen, we operate a 24/7 emergency callout service.

And our team of qualified, experienced Sidcup plumbers, heating engineers, electricians and drainage specialists covers the local area and beyond - including Eltham, Bexleyheath, Bromley, Chislehurst, Greenwich, and further afield including most of London and north Kent.

So you’ll be able to relax, knowing that if disaster strikes this Christmas, we’ve got you covered!